The Philippines bagged the highly-coveted World's Leading Dive Destination and the Leading Beach Destination for 2022, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said the two awards were given during the 29th World Travel Award (WTA) held in Muscat, Oman.
"These global victories for the Philippines evince the unparalleled beauty of our country and the distinct warmth of the Filipino people," said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco.
“We sincerely thank the World Travel Awards and everyone from all over the world whose vote of confidence is timely as the Philippines fully opens its arms to welcome tourists to our shores,” she added.
To date, the Philippine dive portfolio continues at its four-year winning streak in world recognition.
The Philippines bested the world's finest diving destinations like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and other distinguished islands like the Cayman Islands, Maldives, Fiji, Mexico, Azores Islands, French Polynesia, Galapagos Islands, St. Kitts, and Belize.
As the leading beach destination, the Philippines also topped other beaches globally, including previous awardees such as Maldives, The Algarve in Portugal, Jamaica, Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Meanwhile, three partner tourism of the DOT also bagged recognition at the WTA: the famous Amanpulo (World's Leading Dive Resort 2022); City of Dreams Manila (World's Leading Casino Resort 2022); and the Ascott Bonifacio Global City Manila, as the World's Leading Serviced Apartments 2022.
The DOT was also nominated as the World's Leading Tourist Board this year, as well as Siargao as the World's Leading Island Destination and Intramuros as the World's Leading Tourist Attraction.
The 29th World Travel Awards gathered the best travel and hospitality industries from its regional awardees across Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, North America, Oceania, and South America.
Earlier this month, Palawan was also hailed as the Most Desirable Island in the world, and Cebu has nominated Most Desirable Region (Rest of the World) at the 21st Wanderlust Travel Awards in the United Kingdom (UK).
The Philippine Tourism Board, through the Philippine Department of Tourism-Central Visayas Office, also placed 6th among hundreds of entries in the Wanderlust Sustainability Initiative Category for its Dive7 Program.
In September, the Philippines topped Asia’s leading dive, and beach destination, while the historic Walled City of Intramuros was Asia’s leading tourist attraction at the World Travel Awards (WTA) in Vietnam.
Earlier this year, Conde Nast Travel (CNT) also named the Philippines among the 40 most beautiful countries worldwide, specifically citing the remarkable cave system of the Puerto Princesa Underground River, the mysteriously uniform Chocolate Hills of Bohol, and the panoramic views of the Banaue and Cordilleras Rice Terraces.
Time Magazine also named Boracay as one of the 50 World’s Greatest Places of 2022.
"These Awards are a source of inspiration for us in the Department of Tourism to work even harder as the Marcos administration ushers in the resurgence of the tourism industry as a major pillar of economic growth and source of livelihood for millions of Filipinos,” Frasco noted.